The Fall of the Cruizers
The Fall of Da Cruizers Part 1: The Proposal “Ah, Bill, glad to see you made it,” said Victor Hursk, Chairman of the Guild and defacto master of the Grand Principality of New Leavenwood, “What’s with the mask?” “oh, this thing? Helps me breath easier, it got hairy in Topeka,” said Bill as he walked in, his right leg thudding hard on the ground while his left barely made a sound in the thick carpets, Bill reached up and pulled off the filtration mask covering his face, revealing the scorched ruin of the right side of his face. Once Bill may have been called attractive, but the burns, looking like black candle wax left by a fire, and the fact that without his right cheek you could see his teath and jaw bone, Bill was now repulsive. “I got your message though, whats up?” “Jesus Bill, that looks like it hurt,” said Victor in a hushed tone, Bill chuckled. “It does sometimes, but most of the nerves in my on that side are dead now, so its just phantom pains, if you don’t mind?” Bill gestured to his mask, and after Victor nodded, Bill pulled back on the mask. “ What’s the job?” “South of here is an old cargo ship, the U.S.S Hammer, crashed into the river bank. Inside it a band of raiders called the Cruizers have set up shop, and have been causing me nothing but problems, attacking Guild caravans and making the south near impossible to travel. I want you to lead an attack on Da Hamma, kill the Cruizers, and secure the ship so that my men can find out whats there.” “So no small task this time? Okay, I will take care of it, just give me a few days to gather some men and then I will clean house.” “One more thing, I am sending a small squad of Security Services with you, to help out.” What Victor didn’t say was to make sure you don’t fuck me sideways but Bill thought it was implied rather well. “Fine, but if any die, it isn’t my fault, give me a moment,” Bill dug into one of his pockets and pulled out a piece of paper and a pen, “This is a simple formality, but this document states that you are giving me SOME salvage rights to the ship.” “Fine,” Victor said, signing the document with a slight smile, “So, when and where should my men meet you?” Part 2: Gathering Storm Bill walked into the clearing. Sitting on a stump, idly throwing his bowie knife 20 feet into a tree, was Andre Devereaux, one of Bills bodyguards, and one of the best gamblers in the Kansas Wastes, and a master of the thrown blade. As Bill walked toward him Andre suddenly went into a flurry of motion, and 4 more knives, small, slim bladed ones made for the purpose, were sticking within 2 inches of each other in the same tree as the bowie. Lounging near by, leaning back against a fallen tree, hands within easy reach of her pistol, was Jenn Halmacker, a pistolier and bounty hunter from Topeka, her hat covering her face from the sun. Bill heard a twig snap behind him and turned to find “Silent” Bruce, a massive hulk of a man who had fought besides Bill for a very long time, his monstrous shotgun Hammertime in hand. “Heil Kommandant Mclaine.” Said Wolfgang and Franz, a pair of men who looked like they stepped right out of a WW2 flick, wearing their german styled uniforms and carrying their rifles. As they called out their greating Jenn and the rest sat up or stood up. “How was the meeting with Vic?” asked Jenn, smiling crookedly up at Bill, “What he want?” “We got a job boys and girl, and I need more muscle. Andre, I want you to go into Leavenwood and find me some men, Jenn, go talk to the tribals, see if any wanna join up, and take some of the guns with you, Bruce, go with Jenn and carry the guns.” Bill turned to each person in turn, then looked to Wolfgang and Franz “You two, your sticking with me.” A few hours later Bill stood in front of a large group of 30 men and women, a band of ex-raiders, tribals, and retired Guild guards, all with a look in their eyes, a look that told volumes, the Cruizers had NOT made friends in the region, and people could only take so much. “Alright, our job is simple, we are gonna go into Da Hamma, clear out those fucking Cruizers, and then take our share of the bounty. We got to do this in a time frame people, as the Principality is sending us some backup, and I don’t really wanna share some of that loot.” Bill grinned and the gathered crowd laughed, “Now we have several things going for us, they don’t know we are coming, and I got a guy on the inside, who is gonna open up a secret way in for a small team of men, lead by me. The rest of you, your job comes after I clear some of the way, and fire off a flare…” Category:History